2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is one of only two national capitals to border two sovereign states, the other one being Singapore.

Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around 120 km (75 mi) from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District. It has a medieval castle, Trenčín Castle, on a rock above the city.

Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km (29 mi) to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres. It is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric. The city has a historic center. Because of the many churches within its city walls, Trnava has often been called "Little Rome", or more recently, the "Slovak Rome".

Tehelné pole or National football stadium is a multi-use stadium in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was completed in 2019 and is used for football matches, including the home matches of ŠK Slovan Bratislava and the Slovakia national football team. This project concerns mutual assistance between well-known Slovak entrepreneur Ivan Kmotrík as the owner of ŠK Slovan Bratislava and the Government of Slovakia. The stadium has a capacity of 22,500 spectators, and replaced the old Tehelné pole stadium, which was demolished in summer 2013.

Stadion Pasienky is a multi-purpose stadium in Bratislava, Slovakia. The stadium holds 11,591 people. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Slovan Bratislava from 2009 to 2018. The intensity of the floodlighting is 1,400 lux.

The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach football, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in OFC, joined AFC in 2006. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, both territories of the United States, are also AFC members that are geographically in Oceania. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC who managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986 ALFC merged with AFC.

The Football Association of Malaysia is the national governing body of football in Malaysia responsible for organising the Malaysia national football team within the country. The Football Association of Malaysia headquarters is located at Wisma FAM.

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

The French Football Federation is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF was a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in France, both professional and amateur. The French Football Federation is a founding member of UEFA and joined FIFA in 1907 after replacing the USFSA, who were founding members.

The Austrian Football Association is the governing body of football in Austria. It organises the football league, Austrian Bundesliga, the Austrian Cup and the Austria national football team, as well as its female equivalent. It is based in the capital, Vienna.

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second-most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a population of over 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

The German Football Association is the governing body of football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of the men's and women's national teams. The DFB headquarters are in Frankfurt am Main. Sole members of the DFB are the German Football League, organising the professional Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga, along with five regional and 21 state associations, organising the semi-professional and amateur levels. The 21 state associations of the DFB have a combined number of more than 25,000 clubs with more than 6.8 million members, making the DFB the single largest sports federation in the world.

Herbert Fandel is a former German football referee who was in charge of the 2007 UEFA Champions League final. Fandel refereed the UEFA Cup final in 2006 between the English side Middlesbrough and the Spanish side Sevilla. He also refereed the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil in Germany. He officiated the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The director of a music school by occupation, he is married with two children.

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia, and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Putrajaya is the administrative center, which represents the seat of both the executive branch and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 32 million, Malaysia is the world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Tanjung Piai. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to numerous endemic species.

The Bulgarian Football Union is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and FIFA-authorised competitions.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.

The Czech Republic national under-21 football team is the national under-21 association football team of the Czech Republic and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two years.

The Spain national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita, competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The Netherlands national under-21 football team is the national under-21 team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years.

Albert Luque Martos is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left winger or striker.

Lukáš Došek is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He played international football for the Czech Republic, making four appearances between 2000 and 2002. He was born in Karlovy Vary. He is the twin brother of Tomáš Došek.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.

Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Belgian side Royal Antwerp. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackling machine and expert ball-winner, but he also boasts a fine array of passes and a powerful shot, having been a free-kick specialist during his PSV days".

Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink is a Dutch former professional footballer. He formerly played for the Netherlands national team as a striker. He played for clubs such as the Dutch Eredivisie's FC Twente and PSV, the Scottish Premier League's Celtic, Hull City of the English Premier League and Rapid Vienna of Austria's Bundesliga.

Andrea Pirlo is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his vision, ball control, technique, creativity, passing, and free kick ability.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands; its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione, and some islands in the African Plate. Italy covers an area of 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi), with a population of about 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome.

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe. Its coast lies entirely on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, with twenty counties. The country spans 56,594 square kilometres, and has a population of nearly 3.9 million.

Igor Tudor is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille.

The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers (30,452 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec.

Lukáš Došek is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He played international football for the Czech Republic, making four appearances between 2000 and 2002. He was born in Karlovy Vary. He is the twin brother of Tomáš Došek.

David Jarolím is a Czech former footballer and manager of Ústí nad Labem.

Roberto Baronio is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He was a part of Andrea Pirlo's backroom staff at Juventus.

Anthony Šerić is a Croatian Australian former footballer who played as a left-back. He was a part of the Croatian national team at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level.

The Czech Republic national under-21 football team is the national under-21 association football team of the Czech Republic and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two years.

The Spain national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita, competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The Netherlands national under-21 football team is the national under-21 team of the Netherlands and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Championship, held every two years.

Turkey's national Under-21 football team, also known as Turkey Under-21s or Turkey U-21s, is the Under-21 years of age team of the Turkey national football team.